First, I would like to say thank you very much to everyone who left such kind comments to and upvoted my review of ITEM #464665. I was super nervous about posting it, but everyone was so kind, it made me really happy!

So my first ever figure from Alter arrived today, and it is none other than my angel daughter Hanayo (ITEM #317825). I bought her from Amiami in B/B condition for 9040 yen. Initially, I was going to write a review, as I was sure I would find a lot to say about her. And I did, indeed, find a lot to say about her. But I was unprepared. I was not ready. Not ready for how her exquisite beauty would bring me to my knees.

Perfection in 260 mm of plastic

(Someday, I'll have a good camera and I'll even make my own light box. Someday, I'll have a house. Someday my photos will look good. Lol.)

Well, actually, I was already sitting down. And fortunately too, because if I had been standing, I might not have been able to safely set her down before I passed out.

I've not been figure collecting long. My first scale figure was ITEM #396930, and she made me so happy, for a few weeks, my heart squeezed in my chest whenever I looked at her. I know that I love figures because like the rest of humanity, I love beautiful things, but like a much smaller subsection of humanity, the beautiful things I want in my life are small statues of anime characters. But I am an inveterate miser. So, often do I find myself thinking, 'What am I doing? Is this really worth it? Is buying statues of anime girls really making me happy?'

As I held Alter Hanayo in my hands, I heard the answer in my heart.

'Yes!'

I was amazed! Blown away! I had gazed with love and longing at her photos before, but photos could not capture her magnificence! Nevertheless, here are some more photos - puny representations of her splendour, but the best I can do.

It's a common concern with Hanayo that her face looks weird, and it definitely looks off in photos. She's just best seen in 3D though - and isn't that what's so great about figures? Our favourite anime beauties, in 3D?

Where do you even start with a figure like this? As I assembled her with slightly shaking hands, I was immediately impressed by her hat. I love hats like these (I call them udon-dough hats. Why udon specifically, I'm not sure, but they do look like dough, don't they?), and as you put it on her head, you can feel the force of the magnet. Holding the hat in the palm of your hand, however, you feel nothing. I never knew magnets could feel so slight!

Alter has captured Hanayo's motion beautifully. If you're not sure how to angle her hat when putting it on her head, just look at the way her collar flies! They flow in the same direction!

Another common complaint is that Hanayo's outfit is too simple. However, it is very symbolic of her, as this is the outfit of her event SR from her School Idol Diary event. You just don't get a lot more Hanayo-esque than this! Furthermore, the simplicity of her outfit means that you have the cognitive room to absorb and bask in her every detail.

Look at how crisp the blue hem is! I've never seen anything like it! The gold trimming offsets it all and gives the outfit the final, exquisite touch needed to make it complete. If you squint, there is a tiny, tiny bit of paint bleed, but I didn't notice it until I was looking at this photo. Then I went back to look for it on the figure itself and it took me a few seconds, so it's hardly a real flaw at all!

I love clothes creases in figures, and there's not much room for that on her top, but it just makes the crease on her chest, and on her waist from her turning position, all the more lovely. Hanayo has the third biggest bust in μ's :3

Her belt fascinates me. The little symbols are obviously supposed to be dangling from her belt, but as a figure, they too are captured mid-motion. Each rests delicately on her waist. They don't move, but the way they are only just attached to her shirt, the shadow they cast a testament to the way they are poised in mid-air, give the illusion that they would if you could only breathe a little life into Hanayo herself.

I read another review that stated her frills look transparent, even though they're not. This completely baffled me at the time - they certainly look transparent, and I could not imagine what colour they actually are if they are not transparent. Well, I know now! They are not transparent, but they allow a little light through, and their colour is a light blue that is close to metallic.

The little heart on her collar made me go 'wtf that's so cute omfg'. Looking back at the original illustration, there is indeed a hint that there is a symbol on her collar, but no indication to what it is. It's nice to know :D

The way her calf presses into her thigh is amazing. There is no indication that there is any space between her sock and her leg, and certainly her socks are not simply painted onto her leg. How is it done? Her legs even feel different from the skin areas of other figures! I didn't know plastic could feel like this!

The buckles are such a small detail, but I find it incredible that it is included with no flaws! One thing I was a bit iffy about at first is the blue tint to her shoes. As a matter of fact, she is blue tinted in quite a lot of areas. However, now I've had her for a few hours, I don't mind at all, really. And it does provide a lovely complement to her overall colour scheme.

The buttons on her cuffs are precise, and the sculpt of her fingers beautifully done. I have been burnt by less-than-stellar sculpted fingers before, so I am exceedingly pleased by how Hanayo looks. I believe her buttons are actual buttons inlaid into the plastic, instead of being painted on. A good choice. I am often mildly irked by clumsily-painted buttons.

One thing that I was personally worried about was her hair. I love how ITEM #396930 gives Hanayo's hair a lot of fine detail, and I was afraid Alter was going to give Hanayo overly-chunky hair. My fears are unfounded! Forgive me for my lack of faith, for I have never had an Alter before! But now that I have, I see I was foolish to think that Alter could ever fall short of FREEing, of all companies! The layering and the motion in her hair - oh, how beautiful!

Her bloomers(?) surprised me. I thought they would be smooth, but they are full of subtle cloth creases. It's very cleanly done as well. Often cloth creases leave all kinds of shadows or sharp lines, but her shorts just bunch up in a realistic, but not ugly, way. I also love the way the back of her shirt flies up at one end with her movement. Lovely! Truly lovely!

Flaws? She doesn't have any. Well, if you insist ...

The seams of her sleeves are somewhat painfully obvious - however, these exist in the original illustration as well, so you can't exactly blame Alter here.

Her base is huge. I'm guessing it's necessary because she's really quite wide-stanced. But her box is huge too, thanks to the base, which is a bit inconvenient. Like, what, they couldn't just put it behind her in the blister or something and give us a thinner box? Oh well, not a major issue. I knew I would be disappointed by how plain it is though. It's a bit ... prize figure-y lol.

Well, nobody's perfect.

The seamline in her hair is pretty stark too, but you're not gonna notice with her hat on. There's a little something on her hair - a paint chip?

The fact that the line on her hat doesn't exactly disappear into the fold is plain to see.

I found this minuscule paint flaw.

And she wobbles every time I so much as lay a finger on her base. I don't think it's precarious wobbling, but my heart does wobble whenever she does. I fear she will simply snap at the leg someday ;^; Hopefully my fears will prove unfounded, however, and she is remarkably stable right now.

Conclusion: If Alter punched me in the face and robbed me of my money, I would thank them.

Every detail and every perfection roll together to produce a figure beautifully simplistic but utterly breath-taking in design. Her flaws do not detract from her.

Previously to this, I had gazed at some beautiful Alter figures, then blanched at the price. After receiving this Hanayo, however ... I feel as if the next time an Alter figure catches my eye, I can easily find it within my heart to metaphorically press the money into their hands, with rather more physical tears in my eyes, metaphorically whispering 'Ganbatte', before I physically sit back and, with a beatific smile, prepare to wait - because, you know. Delays.

In summary ... did you know Hanayo is getting another Alter? I am going to die, and it is going to feel so. good.

I've actually just bought ITEM #144389 and she's due to arrive next week, so look forward to my next funeral, next week! Thank you for reading <3

(Originally I was going to mark this as Diary since it's really ramble-y, but then it became too detailed to NOT be a Review. Lemme know if you guys disagree.)

Commentaires15 commentaires

You have a very charming and witty way of writing, and it really made this review all the more fun to read! You also encapsulated how I felt about getting my first Alter figure perfectly. Thank you for posting this!

Great review! I was thoroughly happy with this figure when I got it; her subtle loveliness comes out so much better in person. I'm really excited to get my hands on the rest of the line in the coming months.

And don't worry about the wobble; unless she falls from a pretty decent height, or makes hard impact with something, she's not going to break or lean. Alter figures are as solid as they come!

A very nice review. Youre enthousiasme is the biggest compliment you can give to Alter. Alter does not only make a figure but gives it a character. And this figure is no exception on that rule. Comes to mind when i read about a small paint flaw: Alter is actually really close to perfection. It is indeed very hard to find a flaw on a figure made by Alter.

I like how enthusiastic this review was, a pleasure to read! No idea why anybody would complain about the design, I'm no Hanayo fan but I do really like this Alter figure of her and I wish the one they did of Nico (my best girl) was as nice to look at cause I'm just not a fan of that design...

Thanks for the review. mine is still in her box waiting to make her grand appearance on my shelves. I remember a lot of people were anxious when the prototype was announced, but I had faith Alter would deliver the merchandise. This figure got a wonderful idolish smile and that alone sells it. ;-) + a non-scholl sailor fuku, but that's a given!

hadalisii (Il y a 5 mois) #20134424Seeing how utterly happy you are with your best girl i tend to get more and more excited to finally get my hands on Kotori from this Alter-holy-grail-perfect-line. AHHHH reading your reaction made me realize how much i love figure-collecting as a hobby! It brings joy to the world!

Kotori is definitely one of my best purchase in recent memories: lovely, well-designed and carefully assembled. Can't ask for more!

This was a nice read; great review! I know some people initially had complaints about her (I read many about her face), but she's honestly my second favorite of this line after Kotori. Here's hoping the March one is just as well done!

LovelyIdiot (Il y a 5 mois) #20116798You have a very charming and witty way of writing, and it really made this review all the more fun to read! You also encapsulated how I felt about getting my first Alter figure perfectly. Thank you for posting this!

Ahhh thank you so much for such a kind comment! I was so delighted and overwhelmed when I got Hanayo, I really wanted to share my feelings, and I'm so glad I could do it in an entertaining way!

hadalisii (Il y a 5 mois) #20134424Seeing how utterly happy you are with your best girl i tend to get more and more excited to finally get my hands on Kotori from this Alter-holy-grail-perfect-line. AHHHH reading your reaction made me realize how much i love figure-collecting as a hobby! It brings joy to the world!

I hope you find Kotori to be as amazing as I found Hanayo! I really like that they chose that art for Kotori. When the results of the poll for who would win a Christmas UR came out, I was really happy that Kotori's theme won, it was the best of the lot imo and I love her figure form. Ah, this hobby is really the best <3

Damn straight! These feelings inside me ... are they for Hanayo or for Alter? I want to enjoy more Alter figures - but slowly, so that I can have the time to slowly cherish each one before meeting the next.

Seeing how utterly happy you are with your best girl i tend to get more and more excited to finally get my hands on Kotori from this Alter-holy-grail-perfect-line. AHHHH reading your reaction made me realize how much i love figure-collecting as a hobby! It brings joy to the world!